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My current Money Pit

Ratvan

Warren Scout
Well, i've banged on about this a bit now.

This is my current reef tank, been up and running for approximately 1 year. All processes in this tank are natural (no chemical additives at all) the livestock are either all tank bred in the UK or have been maricultured in Europe (this means that I do not support the use of Cyanide and explosives in wild fish and coral collection) it is now coming up to maturity so I can start to battle with the algae blooms that I get without the fear of losing everything inside.

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Occupants as of 18.10.19

Ocelaris Clownfish (Hantu)
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Tail Spot Blenny (Cujo)
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Blue Star Leopard Wrasse (Barong)
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Various Gobies
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My Gobies are now a "mated Pair" roughly 2,000 eggs
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Corals
Hammer
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Open Brain
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Fox Coral
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Torch Coral (with Goby photobomb)
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Ricordia Yuma Mushrooms
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Zoanthanids on Oyster
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Montipora Hrista (Plating Montipora)
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Stylopora
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Quarantine Tank - Wrasse is in here until a week today
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Almost there for the moment

My favourite inhabitant Miss Penny Pincher
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Decorative Macro Algae (Sea Weed)
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Sexy Shrimp
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My oldest and most favourite coral - Duncan
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Micro Starfish
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Pulsing Xenia
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So Friday 25th I move the Wrasse into the Display tank from the Quarantine tank (QT)
2 weeks to clean and disinfect the QT and then I add my Flame Wrasse
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Then he is in for 2 weeks
2 weeks to clean and disinfect the QT then I add my Potter's Wrasse
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Repeat as above for the final fish - Pink Banded Fairy Wrasse
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Oh yeah and also my Suicide Snail (intertidal) I find him all over
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Oh wow! Is it hard work to maintain?

We had a marine tank when I was very young but it was my dad's hobby and so I don't know the ins and outs really, I just remember the very frequent water changes!
 
Wrasse are awesome :D I never really got into fish, I wanted to but didn't have the money or time. I love how there are so many wrasse :D Crustaceans are my absolute favourite in any tank though :D Those shrimp are fabulous: are those spots ultraviolet reactive? Miss Penny Pincher is a lovely thing :D My OH likes the suicide snail :lol:
 
Thank you all, its facinating to see everybodies favourite inhabitant. Usually it is the Clownfish (NEMO!!) Glad to see that someone loves my first ever inhabitant in any tank (Miss Penny Pincher) she is nearly 2 years old now and an absoute menace, she does more damage to my corals than the clownfish trying to hosting one of them.

The Sexy Shrimp do have a UV quality to them, sadly I dont really see them that much as they are tiny (1ch fully grown) but when the three of them get together to dance around a coral it is pretty funny to watch.

I do get to watch the tank a fair amount during my work day, its pretty much me stating my intentions to my work that I am going nowhere anytime soon. This thing is heavy and would probably take about 3 months to move :D

I wouldn't say it was THAT hard to maintain but I have been running an experiment on a smaller system for about a year for Zero water changes, only top off the water lost to evaporation, dose some of the chemicals that the corals and inverts need (Calcium, Iodine, Magnesium, Strontium, Iron, Phosphate) and remove the agae from my scrubber to remove the waste nutrients (ammonia and nitrates) that algae waste then goes into my fertilizer that feeds my phytoplankton and rotifers and copepods (micro organisms that my fish feed on).

A lot of science, a lot of testing, a lot of fiddling to get thrings right and working correctly in the beginning. But I have not changed water since thing was first set up back in June.

I'm hoping soon that my other half lets me turn one of my freshwater tanks into a Reef tank at home so I have something to watch on the weekends, something a lot smaller than this though. 5 Gallon Cube or a 4 Gallon Paludarium (Marine and Lane elements) with mangroves and Yasha Goby and Pistol Shrimp pair. No real thoughts as to corals yet. But need to find out if mangroves are posionous to cats. My thoughts are probably yes, everything they want to chew seems to be potentially deadly.

That snail has actually gone missing for a week only to turn up safe and sound in my works kitchen sink before. Everyone in the office is aware of Keith
 
Well in the end I didn't go for the colourful Wrasse. Christmas shut down in the Office is from 20.12.2019 until 06.01.2020 so I dont want to leave the fish unattended for that length of time (apart from those already in the tank). I did however have to swap out my Clownfish for another Wrasse. Nemo was getting pounded by the larger fish so she is at home in a tank of her own. The larger Wrasse dissipates the Aggression in the tank due to size, body colour and movement (Carnivore - will not harm other fish)

Added a few more Corals as well, found some really odd ones that I couldnt ignore

Orange Plate Coral (Fungia Sp.)
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Zoanthid Corals - HIGHLY TOXIC
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Green Lobophyllia's - These look incredible once they have eaten (and Pooped :D)
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Female Yellow Coris Wrasse (NEW - Top) Swimming with Female Blue Spot Leopard Wrasse
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Well now, had a change of heart and change of plan. The Wrasses will be rehomed (I know a guy with a huge reef) in favour of Flotsam and Jetsam (Japanese Dragon Moray Eels)
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Oh wow, they are awesome :D I love dragons and they're petty close, aren't they :D

They are indeed, the Japanese have an affinity for Dragons. My Favourite bit of trivia is that Seahorses in Japan are known as "Dragon's Illegitimate Children"
I love Dragons too, especially the Japanese ones, got a few tattoo's with them in the design. A few rabbits as well thinking about it

Fab looking creatures.

They're great, I'm debating trying to teach them to hand feed, my only concern is children that visit. Need to get myself an electric fly swat
 
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